A union representing pilots at Germany’s Lufthansa has called for a three-day strike next week in a long-running pay dispute. The Vereinigung Cockpit union said it is calling on pilots to walk off the job next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, April 2-4. The union said Friday it is currently ruling out any further strikes until…

Semana Santa, otherwise known as Holy Week, is an extremely important holiday in Spanish-speaking country but is celebrated with the most enthusiasm and anticipation in Seville, Spain. The holiday, held from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, is celebrated with religious devotion, art, parades and dances to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ.

Yes, the rumors and gossip headlines are all true. *Drumroll * Travel Papa is launching “My Trip”, a personal account, an individual cabinet if you will. That glorious description didn’t have enough detail? I suppose I could expand…

We want to innagurate you all into the TravelPapa family by allowing you to create your very own account, making the ticketing process that much simpler and speedier. We call it the DOUBLE S effect! If you have a tendency (like most of us) to forget your password after you type it in, we will send you an email immediately after you created the account to remind you of all of your data (now if only we could remember to not delete that email).

But, let’s simplify it even more: connect your account to one of your social network accounts and next time, you can easily click on the desired icon and you’re on the site. You will have a record of your past orders and will be able to track the status of your active purchases. You’ll be able to see when, to where and for how much you flew with Travel Papa. Keeping things organized via the internet. Welcome to the 21st century indeed!

Truth be told, this is not my story. But I’m sure you’ll find it very useful. Thus, acccording to the latest research, U.S. airlines are more punctual and less likely to lose your bag than at any time in more than two decades.

An AP reporter Scott Mayerowitz says that travelers still have to put up with packed planes, rising fees and unpredictable security lines, but they are late to fewer business meetings and are not missing as many chances to tuck their kids into bed. Nearly 84 percent of domestic flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled time in the first half of the year – the best performance since the government started keeping track in 1988. The improvement over the first six months of 2011, when 77 percent of flights were on time, is mostly the result of good weather and fewer planes in the sky because of weak demand.

Airlines are also doing a better job of handling bags. Fewer than three suitcases per 1,000 passengers were reported lost, damaged or delayed from January through June, a record low. The two areas of improvement are related: When flights are late, bags often miss their connection.

TravelPapa has some groundbreaking news that you just might want to sit down for.

We were taught as children that we are supposed to share (easier said than done) so we decided to take this simple concept to another level. Instead of sharing our toys and crayons, we are going to be sharing our own traveling experiences. This is an idea that we’ve been playing with for a while and are finally able to put it into action.